WI: Ho Chi Minh is assassinated by a South Vietnamese spy?

Not knowing a lot about the internal politics of either Vietnam, I'd make an amateur guess that killing Ho Chi Minh wouldn't make much of a difference either way. The people in the North who were fighting/cheering for armed reunification with the South would likely continue in their previous posture. There might be a bit of a boost of morale in the South, but it wouldn't significantly alter the reality on the battlefield.

The biggest emotional impact might be in the USA where, if it's late in the war, the hawks will try to portray the death of Ho as some sort of major turning point in their direction, or at least that's what they'd tell the public. Still wouldn't do much to reverse the outcome.
 
Not knowing a lot about the internal politics of either Vietnam, I'd make an amateur guess that killing Ho Chi Minh wouldn't make much of a difference either way. The people in the North who were fighting/cheering for armed reunification with the South would likely continue in their previous posture. There might be a bit of a boost of morale in the South, but it wouldn't significantly alter the reality on the battlefield.

The biggest emotional impact might be in the USA where, if it's late in the war, the hawks will try to portray the death of Ho as some sort of major turning point in their direction, or at least that's what they'd tell the public. Still wouldn't do much to reverse the outcome.

It wouldn't matter, depending on the time frame, North Vietnam had two factions North First and South First. Ho Chi Minh's North First faction had fallen out of power with the failure of collectivization and by the 60's it was Le Duan and his South First who were in power with Ho sidelined.
 
It wouldn't matter, depending on the time frame, North Vietnam had two factions North First and South First. Ho Chi Minh's North First faction had fallen out of power with the failure of collectivization and by the 60's it was Le Duan and his South First who were in power with Ho sidelined.

IIRC, Ho was essentially side-lined from the early 60s on, at the very least. The US expected/hoped for a power struggle after his 1969 death that they could exploit, but none occurred. They didn't know it at the time, but this was because Le Duan had quietly amassed almost Stalin-esque power on the Vietnamese politburo.

In the French War, Ho was very important. By the American War, however, he was more figurehead than anything else. And, as we know, figureheads are just as powerful dead as they are alive, perhaps even more so.
 
There would be an effect, butit would mostly be limited to the diplomatic realm. Ho and Mao were rather close for world leaders and Le Duan used that to keep the Chinese pipeline open. Without Ho, there could be a few knock on effects in regards to supply, but that would be the limit of his assassinations effects on the war.
 
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